Apparatus for making hollow frankfurters



Feb. 11, 1958 R. M. JOHNSON APPARATUS FOR MAKING HOLLOW FRANKFURTERSFiled July 2Q, 1953 IN V EN TOR.

EHPMO/VO M. JOHNSON arrow/s vs Unimd Patent( APPARATUS FOR'MAKING HOLLOWFRANKFURTERS] Raymond M. Johnson, Los Angeles, (2alif.,.assignor ofone-half to Llewelyn B. Stearns, Rivera,

Application 'July20, 1953, Sel'ial'N0.i3-69 068 3 ClaiinS-1 .(Cl.,17239)This invention relates to frankfurters and-isjparticu- A 2,822,57l IPatented :Feb. ally-195.8

within. the :cylinder 12. A lateral outlet 14 communicates with.thecylinder 12 and "is providedawith avalve-lSjfor controlling flow ofground meat through the out1et:14.

Inaccordance. with my invention, -I provide' an extrusionhead.generally.designated-16rwhichincludesan inlet conduit .17connectedeto the outlet: .14 by means-xof the threaded collar 18. Theinlet conduit-r17? communicates i h..the.-.central :cylindricalbody (19at= a location belarly directed to. a hollow frankfurterhaving an axial;

openingiextending therethrough as well as. to aniimproved-methodand.appar a tus for makingtsuch anarticle.

Conventional type fskinless. .frankfurters .are commonly made by.extruding ground .meatthrough an openended pipe or stuffer. horn. A thinwallc-asing-formed of plastic material placed on the outer--surfaceofthe pipe andris closed at, its forward end,.as. by. means of a string.As the ground meat is extruded. .under pressure from .the stufferhorn itis received within .thethin wall casing or fiskinfi, The casingistied=withthe .string at intervals to form the individual frankfurte'rs.After a is preferably -cylindricalalthough it may, be of any other idesired'shape. Theopening provides a cavity for stuffing pickles,cheese, mustard, relish or other comestibles into the interior of thefrankfurter. The stuffed frankfurter may then be sliced into disks toproduce hors douevres or the stuffed frankfurter may be placed within abun to form a hot dog.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel method of extrudingground meat over a central support member which may later be removedafter the cooking step to form the central opening.

Another object is to provide improved apparatus wherein the pressure ofthe ground meat in the extruding head is effective to cause axialmovement of the central meat support member through the extruding head.

A related object is to provide a hollow frankfurter which has beencooked from both inside and outside.

Other and more detailed objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view showing a preferred embodiment of myinvention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view.

Figure 4 is a sectional detail showing the detachable couplingconnecting adjacent ends of the carrier rods.

Figure 5 is a side elevation partly broken away showing an extruded unitmounted on one of the carrier rods.

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view showing a hollow frankfurterembodying my invention.

Referring to the drawings:

A hydraulic press generally designated 10 includes a movable piston 11operating within a pressure cylinder 12. A removable closure 13 providesmeans for introducing ground meat into the cylinder 12. Power means, notshown, are provided for moving the piston 11 is removed .after thevcookt =tween its; ends. Asshown in Figure f3,;a-nut- 720"561V6S toclamp. one end-.of the stationarypipe1;or-stufier horn;21 tothe forwardend :ofnthe" body :19, i This; stuiferehorn: has a discharge opening 22at its forwardxendarA series, of guideelugs- 23tare= provided :within:the :stulfer horn 21 adjacent fine-discharge: ppeni-ngi22.

' I. A. carriera rod-i24 extends axially; through. the "bodyl=: 19 andthroughrthe stulfep-hormZl and is guided 'ons'its'outer surfacebygmeans..Of the lugs-2312A closure I25isi threaded to the. rear ends-otthe-body-19 Land carries a seal' 'ring 26 which-engagesrtheaouterasurfaceofthe'rod'2-4 in fiuid type-relationship." flhis sealwri-ng'26 preventsgroundmeat unden pressure rfirom'ibeing forced through the annular spacehetween the. rod: 24 'andrthe bore 27 of the closure outersurfacerkofazth'e'Tod-:24. The'outer' surface-'30 of the wedge ring istapered to fit within thec'onica'l -bore 31 on the .member 25."Anut32-may be turned to forcethe split taper'edi ring 2& into the conicalbore-31 andthereby establishafrictional drag on the surface Y of the rod24.

The skini- I orrzthinf wall E casing 33 in shirred form is mountedeon'therouter surface' ofi the staffer her-n *2} so that) its overalllength .is considerably shortenedr Tlie forward end-0f the casing: 33"iszthenisecured to' -the forward-end ofsthe-rod Thiscmaybeeaccomplisliedlby means ofi a cord -.orf string; 34 which; encircles.rthe'aca'sing 33 at the location of a groove 35 in the rod 24. Ifdesired, a suitable clip may be used instead of a tie cord 34. Thecontrol valve 15 on the outlet 14 of the extrusion press is then openedto force ground meat under pressure through the inlet 17 and body 19into the annular space 36 between the rod 24 and stuffer horn 21. Thisground meat is extruded through the discharge opening 22 into theannular space between the casing 33 and the rod 24. The pressure of theground meat causes the rod 24 and the forward end of the casing 33 tomove axially relative to the stuffer horn 21. A restriction around theoutside of the stuffer horn 21 adjacent its outer edge is preferablyimposed by manually restricting the outer surface of the casing 33 atthe point 37, as shown in Figure 3. This prevents passage of ground meatonto the exterior surface of the stutter horn 21.

For convenience I prefer to employ carrier rods 24 which are about fivefeet long. The carrier rods are preferably formed of metal and arepreferably hollow for light weight. As best shown in Figure 4, each rod24 includes a length of metal tubing 38 having a plug fitting 39 fixedto each end. The fitting 39 on one end is provided with a threadedsocket 40 and the fitting on the other end is provided with a threadedpin 41. The helix angle of the engaging threads is preferably steep sothat only one-half of a revolution is required to fully engage them.

When the first rod 24 has passed completely through the stuffer horn 21,the casing 33 is tight at its rearward end in the groove 35 provided atthe rearward end of the rod. The adjoining following rod 24 is connectedend to end by means of the threaded parts 40 and 41 just described. Therod 24 with its extruded ground meat and casing is then disconnectedfrom the following rod. The casing 33 in corrugated or bellows form islong enough to supply several rods 24, but when an additional length isrequired the projecting end of the rod 24 which now is positioned withinthe stutter horn 21 and the extruding operation is repeated.

It is desirable to connect the rods end to end so that I the improvedfrankfurter 44 is that the meat adjacent the there is always a rod 24within the seal member 26, thereby preventing escape of ground meatthrough the bore 27 in the member 25. e v

If the rod 24 and casing 33 should move too rapidly under the appliedpressure of ground meat, the nut 32 may be turned to tighten the splitwedge ring 28 about the outer surface of the rod 24 and thereby slowdown its rate of movement.

When a unit 42 comprising a carrier rod 24, extruded ground meat 42, andcasing 33 is disconnected from the following carrier rod 24, it is firsttaken to the smoke room and later to the steam room for cooking. Thecarrier rod, therefore, serves as a means of handling the extrudedground meat during smoking and during cooking.

The unit 42 may conveniently be suspended from one of the cords 34 as itis transferred from the extrusion press through the smoke room andthrough the steam room.

The cooking time is materially shortened because the radial thickness ofthe ground meat is not as great as is the case with a solid conventionalfrankfurter. Moreover, the metal rod 24 conducts heat from its ends sothat the ground meat is cooked from the inside as well as from theoutside.

After cooking, the casing or skin 33 is removed and the ground meat isstripped axially from the rod 24. The five'foot tubular length of groundmeat is then cut into shorter convenient lengths of frankfurte'rs 44.The frankfurters are characterized by the central opening 45 whichextends from end to end. This opening is cylindrical if the rods 24 arecylindrical but it will be undera V stood that the use of non-circularrods 24 will produce non-circular openings 45. A further characteristicof central opening and the meat adjacent the outer surface is morethoroughly cooked than the meat at the central portion 46 of the wallthickness of the frankfurter. This characteristic results from thecooking process wherein heat is applied both internally and externallyof the hollow frankfurter, as described above.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I donot wish to be limited to the details herein set forth, but my inventionis of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for making hollow frankfurters and the like comprising incombination: an extrusion head having an opening therethrough and aninlet conduit extending laterally thereinto, a stutter horn connected tosaid head in alignment with said opening and adapted to have a casingcarried thereby, a carrier rod extending through said opening and saidstutter horn, a rod bearing and sealing means between said head and saidrod and a casing securing means on the end of said rod outwardly of saidstutter horn, whereby when an end of the casing is secured to said rodand ground meat is introduced into said opening through said inlet, thesame will fill the casing and force the rod outwardly of said head.

2. The combination settforth in claim 1 in which brake means areprovided on the head to retard the rate of movement of the rod.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which guide means areprovided within the stutter horn for sliding contact with said rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,107,184 Priban Aug. 11, 1914 2,186,435 Serr Jan. 9, 1940 2,240,522Serr May 6, 1941 2,568,491 Edwards Sept. 18, 1951 2,580,726 Brewer Jan.1, 1952 Elsaesser Apr. 21, 1953

